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So to go from Warrior II to Side Angle which you see very frequently in Flow classes, is
a major transition. Where the focus in Warrior II, at least in the core flow, is to pull
in and up on the root to send the spine up, there's a lot of intensity, there a lot of
lifting and holding on, squeezing of the pelvis. In Side Angle, you open up, push with your
back leg and send the prana out, not down, but out. So I placed a block here inside my
foot and I know that a lot of folks who've done even a little bit of yoga don't feel
that they need a block for Side Angle, Parsvakonasana. But I encourage my students to use a block
for quite awhile and I'll show you why. So you use this to make a big hip opening out
of this pose, Side Angle. So coming back into Warrior II, you can see that there's a tremendous
lift straight up and down, that's what makes it Warrior II. I'm actually, holding this
up. When I'm ready to go into Side Angle, I release the root, I release the sitting
bones from each other, I take them towards this foot, I push with this foot as it take
me out in order to come down, my hand finds the block. Okay. Usually I just take this
hand behind the back, I want to feel what the pelvis is doing. I want to work with the
pelvis in this pose. Now, in Side Angle, with the hand on the block I can bend the elbow,
when I bend the elbow I can press the knee further back like a door opening. The knee
is moving back. And this sitting bone, instead of being out back, it's going to come down
and under. That's going to be a challenge in this pose with or without a block. Once
the sitting bone is down and under, I can start to ride in my stints and go down, but
don't give up on this sitting bone. Don't give up on that sitting bone. So, if you're
able without a block to maintain that alignment and not lose it out the back side, good for
you. You've attained the high level of flexibility in your hips.